Monthly Archives: June 2016

After securing Fontenay the allied forces pushed on to their objective of Raury. The allies were confident but now faced a difficult march over open countryside. What resistance would the German forces offer?

The British forces led the advance. A Sherman moved along the road and began to gain sight of the German lines.

Slowly the advancing troops edged into the table and the first shots were exchanged. No immediate damage caused but both sides looked nervous of the open terrain.

Conscious of the need to advance the British transports moved on supported by the tanks. The German PAK40 opened up and left the Cromwell a smoking wreck.

The Centaur took revenge and launched its HE rounds at the German anti-tank gun, destroying it and the crew.

The British continued to advance, laying down smoke to hinder the German line of sight whilst trying to keep vulnerable infantry in the cover of moving vehicles.

The German lines stayed steady waiting for their moment – the arrival of their outflanking forces. The arrival was well timed and veteran German forces piled into the advancing British.

The British forces were shaken but not routes by the sudden assault. But the sound of heavy tanks struck fear into the attackers – the Panzer IV advanced onto the flank of the British and suddenly chaos reigned!

The British advance ground to a halt under the assault on it’s right flank. Units exchanged fire and the Sherman was immobilised. Assaults saw one British unit wiped out and the Panzer IV come under infantry attack.

The German veterans could not stand up to the concentrated fire and HE rounds. Whilst the Panzer seemed invulnerable, the German veterans took heavy casualties and were wiped out.

Pressing forward the British sought to consolidate their position attacking the deep German line whilst surrounding the heavy German tank with the remaining armour.

The British were clearly rattled and could not get a shot landed on the German tank.

As the battle reached its conclusion the British finally assaulted the German positions, taking out a field howitzer and a defending unit. The German’s, however now moved to head off the advancing British and quickly dealt with the attackers.

The British began to consolidate their gains whilst the Germans repositioned for the expected fresh assault.

Proceedings begun with the allied prep bombardment, which had very little affect on the German units, just a few pins and several misses!

Turn one saw a flurry of activity as both sides looked to cover ground. Allies pushed hard on both flanks while the Germans pushed on into more advanced defensive positions. The AEC was the most adventurous, looking to inflict early damage and secure cover from the Panzer IV but managed to miss landing HE shots into German occupied buildings.

Turns two and three were where the real action started. The Germans secured better positions, entering buildings on the left flank and securing positions in the terrace houses on the right and behind stone walls covering the road on the right flank. From these positions they were able to bring effective fire down on the advancing Brits, the worst of the damage being inflicted on Tom’s exposed infantry on the left flank. On the right the German’s superior positions was bogging down Bryn’s advancing force, fortunately the Staurt Recce managed to dodge the Panzer’s fire.

The biggest moment however was the loss of the AEC. Having recce’d into cover to avoid the aggressive Panzer IV the AEC was taken out by a volley of no less than four Panzerfausts!!!! Things were not looking good for the allies.

Turn four was the pivotal point in the battle for the allies. The infantry on both flanks found better cover, making it to the edge of the building complex on the left and up to the barn and orchard on the right. From these positions they could finally pester the German positions with some effective fire.

But it was the arrival of the outflanking special forces that turned the tide. from both flanks Commando’s and SAS units entered the fray and had immediate effect, taking positions in buildings on the left and swiftly removing the Kriegsmarines on the right.

The arrival of the special forces freed up the rest of the infantry and British infantry on the right flank managed to liberate the terrace houses with an assault. Things didn’t go so well on the left where an assaulting British Infantry unit was ambushed by German enfilade fire from the farmhouse. Only two plucky survivors made it to the assault where they fell bravely.

Turn five saw even more assaults. The Commando’s on the left assaulted and destroyed the Infantry in the bunker outhouse and British infantry followed up the bloody assault from the previous round and finally took the small buildings on the outskirts of the complex, both were at a heavy cost…….mentions in dispatches for possible medals for bravery.

On the right the Germans were being pushed back by unrelenting fire from the Commando’s and SAS units, bolstered by the Stuart recce who had secured good cover from the Panzer IV. Allies move into the German deployment zone on the right.

At this point we ran out of time and called the game. The result is that most of the complex is contested. On the left the Allies and Axis share an equal split of the buildings with the Pak 38 and MMG units holding a defensive line to the north of the road. The allies on the left suffered horrific casualties and really are holding onto the buildings with a handful of survivors.

On the right flank the special forces have made a mess of the German resistance and the Germans were in the process of consolidating into the large barn on the crossroads. With the Stuart recce and two other infantry untis in support the flank seemed poised to collapse.

The Panzer 4 is still on the prowl but was struggling to find targets in the open. The church on the crossroads is held by the solitary German mortar spotter.

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We don’t have a report for game 5 (sorry) but the allies pushed on and ended the German occupation of Fontenay. They now push on through the open fields towards Raury – their final objective.